Google Fiber

[PhiAlpha]

Lost Ogle giving credit to Pete and OKCtalk for breaking the story:

Report: Oklahoma City is getting Google Fiber | The Lost Ogle

[loveOKC]

They will only come to neighborhoods that have a high demand. it will be tough to convince enough people in your neighborhood to sign up

[SoonerDave]

They will only come to neighborhoods that have a high demand. it will be tough to convince enough people in your neighborhood to sign up

Given that their top tier of $130/month for TV+ 1Gb Internet beats my current Cox setup by about $45/month, *plus* another $12/month on the set-tops, it wouldn't take me more than about 28 seconds to sign up. That's just under $700/year in savings for what should be a vastly superior service.

Just have to see how it pans out over the next couple of years.

[king183]

They will only come to neighborhoods that have a high demand. it will be tough to convince enough people in your neighborhood to sign up

I have no idea why you think it will be tough to convince people to sign up. When they see the capabilities of the service and the advantages over their current options, you'll have people lining up in droves to join the service.

[gopokes88]

Look at the other cities fiber is in and expanding to as well. We're in good company. This is really big news. Imagine when we're trying to recruit companies here, we were one of the first cities google rolled out fiber too. Clearly Google (one of if not the best corporate brands in the world) thinks okc is a good place to be. Norman will get fiber, that'll be a good draw for ou recruiting students. Free Google fiber internet is available in Norman. This will resonate with young entrepreneurs getting priced out of cities like Portland, Seattle, Austin. If Google likes it, can't be that bad.

Cox will probably off free internet at 5mbs to counter as well. Eventually the entire city will have free internet, and not only that, they'll have options as to who provides their free internet. Our cost of living is already pretty low and now it's a little lower.

[GoldFire]

Wow, wasn't expecting to see us getting Google Fiber for quite some time! Here's to hoping that they offer business internet as well. Our AT&T internet at our office is unbearable and constantly cuts out, and the alternative with Cox costs 5x as much.

[Bellaboo]

Not sure of any correlation, but It couldn't hurt that google has an established data center in Oklahoma.

Wonderful news for the OKC metro.

[Bobby821]

Well this article from News Ok makes it seem a little less than a done deal. feeling a little disappointed.

Google Fiber takes a look at Oklahoma City | News OK

[loveOKC]

[QUOTE=king183;916181]I have no idea why you think it will be tough to convince people to sign up. When they see the capabilities of the service and the advantages over their current options, you'll have people lining up in droves to join the service.[/QUOTE

I don't disagree that people will be lined up for service, but will there be enough people in a specific neighborhood to get Google to activate service. The way the sign up works is, you have to have enough sign ups in the neighborhood for Google to bring service there.

[Bellaboo]

Well this article from News Ok makes it seem a little less than a done deal. feeling a little disappointed.

Google Fiber takes a look at Oklahoma City | News OK

This is before the press conference. Do you think they are going to say much before the presser ?

[FighttheGoodFight]

Where is the presser going to be available?

[FighttheGoodFight]

Answered my own question. Looks like we are just a potential city. This could be quite a long time until we get something in place.

https://fiber.google.com/newcities/

[Bobby821]

Does anyone have any information on how Cox Communications has reacted or done when Google fiber has been announced for a city they currently serve?

[UrbanNorman]

For what it's worth, I still had the screenshot up from https://fiber.google.com/newcities/ before they added Oklahoma City, so I was able to compare potential cities. The three that were added within the last 15 minutes were OKC, Jacksonville and Tampa.

[jccouger]

Well, that is a bummer. I guess this is one step closer, but still nothing for sure.

[AP]

I guess I don't understand what everyone was expecting... Why would they announce that OKC was getting Fiber before other cities that are being explored. Like we somehow jumped to the front of the line.

[GoldFire]

News9 had tweeted that you could watch live on their site, but I couldn't find it anywhere and the Tweet has now been deleted. Sounds like we already know everything there is to know anyway.

[MrBigglesworth]

I guess I don't understand what everyone was expecting... Why would they announce that OKC was getting Fiber before other cities that are being explored. Like we somehow jumped to the front of the line.

It isnt jumping the line, its just the fact that its in consideration. The news is huge. It will force existing ISPs to lower pricing and increase speeds because when Google comes in for 1gbps for $70 all others will start to lose business.

[zookeeper]

The announcement is that we are now a potential city.

Official press release http://www.okc.gov/news/2015_10/Okla...Fiber_OKC.html

Oklahoma City to work with Google Fiber to explore bringing OKC residents ultra-high speed Internet access[/h] (Oct. 28, 2015) - Today, Mayor Cornett announced that Oklahoma City will begin working with Google Fiber to explore the possibility of building a brand new superfast broadband network in the city.

“We’re very excited to be at this point in the process. We’ve had ongoing conversations with Google since 2012 and today we are moving forward with a game-changing opportunity to enhance broadband access in Oklahoma City – both in terms of speed and access, said Mayor Cornett.

“We’re also grateful for what could be a substantial investment Google will be making in Oklahoma City as we move forward.”

Improving broadband speeds and choice for residents has been a priority for Oklahoma City for years. Today’s average American broadband speed is 11.9 megabits per second. In contrast, Google Fiber could bring Oklahoma City residents access to Internet speeds up to 1,000 megabits per second—or up to 85 times faster than average speeds in America.

“This is about raising the standards in Oklahoma City and laying the foundations of economic development for our future. In today’s wired world, research, education, business and entertainment take place online. To be competitive in the world, we need to ensure we have access to high-speed, fiber-optic networks and that we get as many people online as possible.”

Jill Szuchmacher, Director of Expansion, Google Fiber said abundant high-speed Internet can help communities grow stronger, laying a foundation for innovation and economic growth.

“City leaders like Mayor Cornett have taken a big step to see what they can do to bring superfast fiber networks to residents and businesses,” Szuchmacher said. “We look forward to working side-by-side with Oklahoma City in the coming months to explore the possibility of bringing Google Fiber to Oklahoma City”

Consumer demand for faster Internet speeds is at an all-time high. Many of the things people love to do online — from gaming to streaming new movies — require a lot of bandwidth. Families want faster speeds at home to do what they love to do on the Web, without buffering or fighting over bandwidth during primetime. And fiber networks aren’t just about meeting today’s speed needs. This year the White House made faster Internet speeds a priority, citing the need to drive innovation, foster investment in new industries, and ensure that America is competitive in the global economy. The next leap in Internet speeds — to gigabit Internet — will lead to innovation that’s unimaginable today.

Starting this week, Google will work closely with Mayor Cornett and city leaders on a joint planning process to explore what it would take to build a brand new fiber-optic network capable of delivering these gigabit speeds throughout Oklahoma City. Google will begin compiling a detailed study of local factors that might affect construction plans. Simultaneously, Mayor Cornett and city leaders will begin meetings with Google to discuss what it would take to plan and prepare the city for a fiber project of this scale.

Google Fiber is an Internet and TV service that provides Internet connectivity up to 1 gigabit — 85 times faster than average speeds in America, along with hundreds of HD TV channels. Google Fiber is currently available in Kansas City, KS, Kansas City, MO, Provo, UT, and Austin, TX. Google Fiber in the process of expanding Google Fiber to six additional metro areas: Atlanta, GA, Charlotte, NC, Nashville, TN, Raleigh-Durham, NC, Salt Lake City UT, and San Antonio, TX. For more information about this announcement, visit the Google Fiber blog.

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• Watch City Channel 20 on Cox Cable or live anywhere on YouTube.
Media Contact: Kristy Yager
297-2550 / 863-2831
kristy.yager@okc.gov

[hfry]

This news is huge. Even being a potential city means we are in the road to getting the service. Everyone already knows it takes years to install it all. Seeing people say this is a disappointment is a joke. How many other cities would have been glad to be listed as a potential city today. Is it a 100%sure thing? No, but for them to even announce us means that they already have a plan in place and just like potential cities before us, the service will come.

[jn1780]

At least were on the map.........

[zookeeper]

It isnt jumping the line, its just the fact that its in consideration. The news is huge. It will force existing ISPs to lower pricing and increase speeds because when Google comes in for 1gbps for $70 all others will start to lose business.

Except that Google has potential cities all over the country. Fiber isn't "coming" to OKC. It's now on a list of possible cities.

[SoonerDave]

OKC is on the formal map of Google Fiber future cities. While it may not be as "AHA" as perhaps I might have hoped, it's a darned sight better than not being on the map at all.

There's a lot of infrastructure to be rolled out and built up, but so long as no overwhelming obstacles are seen, this is still great news.

I wonder if there are any aspects of this about which Cornett has to be cautious for perhaps political reasons. I think the Cox franchise agreement is up for renewal next year, and if nothing else this gives the City quite a bit of leverage as they discuss terms for a new agreement - and I'll bet it's the shortest one ever. I think the current one was 7 years (?) Not sure.

[zookeeper]

This news is huge. Even being a potential city means we are in the road to getting the service. Everyone already knows it takes years to install it all. Seeing people say this is a disappointment is a joke. How many other cities would have been glad to be listed as a potential city today. Is it a 100%sure thing? No, but for them to even announce us means that they already have a plan in place and just like potential cities before us, the service will come.

It IS good news. But, an hour ago, we all thought we were a Google Fiber city and it would be announced today according to the report. Give everybody a break, this is like we've got an NFL franchise versus "you're now on our official list." Yes, that would be exciting, but nothing like the former.

[gopokes88]

Get everyone you know to fill this out.

https://fiber.google.com/cities/oklahomacity/